A singles walk is coming to Sefton Park for anyone who's fed up of dating apps

Liverpool singles who are fed up with dating apps will have the chance to meet their match face-to-face – and get their steps in at the same time – on a new Singles Park Walk.

The Singles Park Walk, will take place at Sefton Park on Saturday September 28. It has been organised by civil servant and digital creator Becky Saunders.

When 37-year-old Becky, who runs Get Reviewed Liverpool, found dating apps weren’t working for her, she decided to create her own events where people can meet up and get to know each other in person in a more relaxed way.

She explains: “I’ve been single for nine months and I’ve been on dating sites, all the apps, and they’re just not for me.

“I’ve thought about speed dating as well but I couldn’t be doing with the pressure of that, I wouldn’t know what to say and I don’t think I’d get to know someone properly because I’d be too nervous.

“I think a lot of people are in the same position as me and they don’t want to go speed dating or on dating sites, so I was thinking, how do I actually want to meet people?

“I want to just go and sit in a nice pub, be really chilled and know that everyone else around me is single.

“I was speaking to one of my friends and she suggested I put a singles event on like that and I thought it was such a good idea, so I decided to do one with live music later in the year at Dicey Riley’s.

“Then I went on a walk with another friend in Sefton Park, as part of Move netwalking, and it was so good because you got to chat to lots of people and get to know each other.

“We were talking about the singles event I was planning and he said, why don’t you do something like this but with singles? That’s where the idea for the Singles Park Walk came from.

“I think it can be quite daunting going to a singles night on your own, and lots of people don’t like them, but this way anyone coming to the Dicey Riley’s event will know at least one person and you won’t feel like you’re on your own.

“You’ve got the safety of being in a group and it feels less pressured because there’s not the same expectations – that’s what I want all my events to be, no games that people feel like they have to join in, no pressure, just a relaxed environment where people can be themselves.

“When you’re going for a walk it’s nice and chilled and you can chat to lots of different people, you don’t have to just stick to one person on a table. You can walk around freely, that’s what netwalking is like, so you could speak to 20 people over two hours and get to know each other.”

The first Singles Park Walk is on Saturday September 28, between 10am and 12noon, meeting at the park entrance opposite Lark Lane. You can bring your dog if you like and it’s free to attend, but you can book a place online in advance.